Beyond the Security Zone

In a stone house in a major town on Poyang Lake, a young man who was clearly suffering from kidney deficiency sat on a sofa, looking down at two men who were lying on a stretcher.

"Do you even realize that you two were beaten to the ground in broad daylight? You've disgraced me! Everyone around here knows you're my men!"

"Tell me, what exactly happened?"

The man who had previously offended Lin Chen and his companions raised his head and said to the young man with a look of grief and indignation:

"Young master, I just thought those two girls were pretty and wanted to introduce them to you. I might have said something a little inappropriate, so I got beaten up."

"She's good-looking! How good-looking!" The young man with kidney deficiency exclaimed, his eyes gleaming. "Do you have a photo?"

"Yes! Of course! I secretly filmed it with my equipment!" the man said, struggling to pull out a memory card from his pocket and hand it to the guard next to him.

The young man took the memory card from the guard, inserted it into the tablet, and took a look. He found that Liu Lin and Rou Rou were indeed quite good-looking.

"They are quite beautiful, but they're so young and already hanging around near Anjie. It seems their strength and background aren't that great. It's a pity I have urgent business outside Anjie right now, otherwise I really would have stayed to get to know these two beauties..."

……

"Little Orange, how did he know you have kidney deficiency?"

Even after leaving Anjie for about 20 kilometers, Liu Lin still teased Lin Chen from time to time about what had just happened.

"Is Sister Lin unable to get over this hurdle?" Lin Chen asked helplessly, rolling his eyes at Liu Lin.

"It's alright, it's alright. I don't usually laugh unless it's really funny." Liu Lin took a deep breath and suppressed her laughter.

"Sister Lin, look, Sister Rou won't laugh at me," Lin Chen said.

"Yeah, Rou Rou, why aren't you smiling?" Liu Lin asked curiously.

"Because when those two said Lin Chen had kidney deficiency, they meant we did it." Rou Rou's cheeks immediately turned red after she finished speaking.

The atmosphere between the three of them instantly became awkward.

After a while, Lin Chen began to change the subject.

"Sister Lin, Sister Rou, aren't you angry when they said those frivolous things to you?"

"It's infuriating, but I'm used to it." Rou Rou sighed and said, "I've seen all sorts of hunter mages outside the An Realm. If they're strong, we just avoid them; if they're weak, a beating will make them behave. Like Gao Gu from the Battle Axe Team, he got beaten up by Sister Lin because he was so foul-mouthed."

After Rou Rou finished speaking, the awkward atmosphere froze again.

Lin Chen was also cursing himself inwardly for always picking on such inappropriate topics, but he also made a silent vow to never let anything like this happen again.

"The scenery outside the border of Jiangcheng has a unique charm compared to Bowang Mountain."

After walking a short distance, Lin Chen looked at the surrounding scenery and, wanting to break the tense atmosphere, exclaimed.

"That's natural. Bowang Mountain is a mountain, while Poyang Lake is a wetland. Of course, the scenery is different." Liu Lin also returned to normal.

"Sister Lin, didn't you say that Poyang Lake Wetland is quite dangerous? How come we've left Anjie so far away and haven't encountered any threats?" Lin Chen asked, puzzled, since this was only the second time he had left Anjie.

"We haven't gone deeper yet. This is still the area patrolled by military mages. They've dealt with all the powerful demons here."

"The reason why there are so many demons near Anjie in Bowang Mountain is because we just experienced my Blood Alert, and the demons haven't left yet."

"Besides, it's always good to be careful outside of Anjie," Liu Lin explained to Lin Chen.

"That thing lying on the ground up ahead looks like a person," Rou Rou suddenly pointed out.

Upon hearing this, Liu Lin and Lin Chen quickened their pace and hurried forward, with Rou Rou following closely behind.

As the three were about to reach their target, Liu Lin and Rou Rou immediately stopped. Lin Chen was about to continue forward when Liu Lin grabbed him.

Lin Chen, who had been pulled back, looked at Liu Lin with a puzzled expression.

"There were no obvious injuries on that person, and we don't know if they're alive or dead. They might have been poisoned by something. We need to be careful," Liu Lin explained.

"Ice Vines - Freeze!"

A chill enveloped Liu Lin, and the surrounding temperature instantly dropped to a freezing level. White frost rapidly spread from Liu Lin's feet toward the target's location.

Soon, the large area where the target was located was covered by ice and snow, but nothing unusual happened.

Only then did Liu Lin feel relieved, and she led Lin Chen and Rou Rou toward the body lying on the ground.

Upon reaching the body, Liu Lin did not directly touch the body on the ground. Instead, she broke off a branch from the side and used it to turn the body over.

After the person lying on the ground turned over, Lin Chen and the other two confirmed that he was dead.

His death was extremely gruesome; his face was black, and his entire body was in a convulsive, stiff state, clearly indicating that he died of poisoning.

Lin Chen followed Liu Lin's example, took a tree branch, and used it to lift up the corpse's clothes.

Sure enough, there was a small black spot on the corpse's ankle, which looked like the spot where the toxin entered the body.

"Stay away from him," Liu Lin suddenly shouted.

Although Lin Chen and Rou Rou didn't know why, they immediately took a few steps back.

"Sister Lin, what have you discovered this time?" Lin Chen asked, turning his head.

Liu Lin didn't speak, but instead released her magic again, instantly covering the entire corpse with frost and freezing it completely.

Immediately afterwards, Liu Lin clenched her right hand, and the corpse made a cracking sound, breaking into several pieces.

As the corpse shattered, Lin Chen discovered that its interior had been hollowed out, replaced by countless tiny insects the size of a thumb. However, these insects were now frozen into ice blocks, devoid of any sign of life.

"These insects are what caused the corpse to die," Lin Chen asked in surprise.

Liu Lin nodded: "That's right. According to the information provided by the Hunter Alliance, this little bug is called a Blood Poison Bug. Don't underestimate it because of its small size; it's extremely venomous. One bite from it is basically a death sentence. And encountering this bug means we've already left the safe zone."

"Wouldn't it be very dangerous for us to search for demons outside of this safe zone?" Lin Chen frowned.

"Although this insect is deadly, it has very weak resistance. It can be killed by any slightly powerful magic. Moreover, it hates the smell of perilla leaves. I bought a spray with perilla leaf properties when I came, so I can just spray some on it when the time comes," Liu Lin explained.

"Sister Lin is really amazing," Lin Chen praised.

"Now you know how capable we are, right? You didn't even want us to come along!" Rou Rou wrinkled her little nose and complained, "How are you going to handle all this by yourself?"

"Isn't it because I was worried about your safety and that I might delay your plans?" Lin Chen chuckled, a little embarrassed. "Besides, I didn't plan to come alone. I was thinking of finding a random team in a major town to come with me."

"Find a random team," Liu Lin rolled her eyes at Lin Chen, then pointed to the corpse on the ground: "Look, this is what happens to you."

Looking at the corpse shattered into countless pieces, Lin Chen couldn't help but shudder. He immediately perked up and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely study hard and learn all of Sister Lin and Sister Rou's wilderness survival skills."